Rugby risks

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The rate of injury in sport played at school level cannot be as high as the 20 per cent chance that has been quoted recently

Sir, “A young person playing a full season of rugby had a 20 per cent chance of getting injured, typically suffering concussion or a fracture” (Professor Allyson Pollock, Feb 18). Surely this is a mistake — quite apart from the fact that this statement implies that this risk was for each season.

I was involved in schools rugby for 35 years, in a school with some 15+ teams, and I refereed for 30 of those years. While refereeing, often several times a week, I came across not a single example of concussion or fracture.